Freedom
by Lady ot Rings
Summary: After Sirius Black fell through the Veil, he was faced with darkness. Can he escape the prison of night?


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. JKR has that honor, so don't sue me or anything!

Darkness had never been a foe of Sirius Black, in fact he used to thrive in it; much more trouble can occur unnoticed at night. Now however darkness was no longer a helpful friend...

Hands reached up to catch the falling form of Sirius Black as the Black Veil fluttered and was still again. The hands, cold and clammy, stood him on his feet and left him to search in the dark. Unable to support himself, Sirius fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air. It was chilly and he could see his breath come out in short mists.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the distance, or was it just in Sirius' mind? He could not understand anything anymore. But the tortured cry tore his heart in two at she drew himself back up.

"SIRIUS!"

"Harry!" The man's hoarse voice was swallowed up by the suffocating darkness. He reached his hands out hoping to find a way out of this black prison and back to his friends fighting at the Ministry.

Out of nowhere a small cold hand closed around his bearded mouth. "No!" A loud whisper came from a very small woman in front of Sirius. "Do not speak above a whisper! It is forbidden." Sirius looked at her with wide eyes. "This is Death," she explained.

Taking his hand, the woman led Sirius past a large black veil serving as a wall into another room with many silent people, all clothed in torn gray robes. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was wearing the same sort of raiment. "Where are you taking me?" he asked as quietly as he could. The woman looked at him with empty eyes then continued to lead him farther into the room. She sank to the hard floor once she found a suitable spot, gesturing for Sirius to do the same. Once he was comfortable in the cold, dark room, the woman took his hand again and looked into his eyes, as if she could see his very soul.

"This is Death," she repeated. "You have fallen through the Veil and arrived here to wait until our savior comes to free us, to let us rest in peace."

"Our Savior?" Sirius gave her a questioning glance.

"The one who will defeat the Dark Lord, You-Know-Who," the woman whispered. "We wait until that day, until one of the two is destroyed. If it is our savior who is defeated, then we wait until another arrives." Looking away, she continued. "We wait until the Final Rest, whenever that may be."

Sirius thought this bit of information over. _The savior? The one to defeat Voldemort? These people are waiting for Harry. _He sighed and leaned his head on the wall. _I wish I could escape. I wish I could..._

The thought struck him as quickly as the spell that sent him through the Veil did. _Just a few moments of happiness in this dead weight down here. _Sirius thought hard about the big, shaggy black dog he knew so well. _Padfoot. _The name almost brought a smile to his lips.

Almost.

Even as he tried to transform into his animagus form, his mind told him it would do no good. "You cannot become an animal anymore." The whisper from the woman was so quiet that Sirius barely heard her. Looking at his bemused expression, the woman continued. "I was an animagus as well before You-Know-Who's followers killed my family and I for refusing to aid Him. When I arrived here, I tried to transform and found I couldn't do it. Since we are dead we don't need those abilities we left behind. Unless you're not ready for this." She cocked her head to the side and studied his expression.

"I'm just taking it all in right now, wondering why I'm here." Why was he here? Was he really...dead? He could say Voldemort's name without flinching, but even thinking he could no longer be in the land of the living made his heart beat faster. And what about Harry? Who would look out for him while away from school? Remus wouldn't abandon him, he couldn't. He was now Harry's last link to his parents. What of Molly? She would surely get on Harry's back about the Order meetings now that his godfather was gone. Gone? _I haven't even been here for five minutes and I'm already saying I'm gone. _Had it been five minutes? Sirius didn't know, nor did he really care. What of Dumbledore? Had he failed the Headmaster by being careless and underestimating his enemy?

_Stop questioning yourself, Padfoot. _"That's not my name anymore," he said under his breath. "I'm Sirius and I'm dead." He gave a short chuckle at his own confession. "James, what did we get ourselves into?" The small woman gave him a questioning look. "An old friend," he explained. "I was believed to be his killer once." An odd feeling came over Sirius. Not only had he just confessed his own death, but he was opening up to a complete stranger. Maybe this was a step in the right direction for him, so that he could accept the end and wait for Harry to save the wizarding and muggle world alike. Perhaps this death wasn't so bad.

After all, now he could stay in one place without running from everyone who wanted to catch him for a reward. Now he could rest in his own kind of peace, knowing he was free from the troubles of the world. He let those thoughts wash over him for a moment as he closed his eyes, finally not being plagued by sights of his nightmares. So many times he had seen what was left of James and Lily's home that Halloween night. So many times he had seen when Peter murdered all those muggles and set him up for his friends' deaths. So many times he had remembered the way the Dementors tried to suck all the happiness out of him next to the lake at Hogwarts. What happiness? Knowing he was innocent, free, and had Harry's trust.

Harry. Somehow it always came back to him. James' son really was something, able to give even the most hopeless of people something to believe in: Hope for a brighter future. Sirius seemed to see a light in the darkness as he stood up again. Looking down at the woman, whom he noticed for the first time to be blonde, he took her hand in his and told her one simple fact.

"Harry will save you."

Somehow knowing the way, Sirius passed through the veil serving as a wall again and back into the room he fell in. On the other side was a black veil with some sort of light shining through it. He strode on, unafraid of what awaited him and into the room of Light. This room was the opposite of the one the woman took him to; it was warmer and had the feeling of weightlessness. Looking around, he felt at peace, as if the weight of the past had been lifted from his shoulders. Laying down on the soft floor, one thought crossed Sirius' tired mind.

Freedom.


End file.
